Blindstitch sewing-machine.



F. A. READ.

BLINDSTITCH SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5. 1914.

LQQQfi-fi Patented Apr. 17, 1917.

3 $HEETSSHEET 1.

F. A. BEAU. BLINDSTITCH SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5| I914.

Patented Apr. 17, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2. 615' mz wm F. A. READ.

BLINDSTITCH SEWING MACHINE.-

-APPLlCAT|0N FILED MAR. 5, 1914.

L fifi Patented App 17, 1917.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3- sans are nine.

FRED A. READ, 0F LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS. ASSIGNOR TO THE REECE BUTTON HOLE MACHINE COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A. CORPORATION OF MAINE.

BLINDS'IITCH SEWING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 117, 1917.

Application filed March 5, 1914. Serial No. 822,786.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED A. READ, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Blindstitch Sewing- Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to blind-stitch sewing machines and, for convenience, is illustrated herein applied to the type of blindstitch machine known as a button hole finishing machine, a prior example of which is shown in my prior Patent No. 905,101, granted November 24th, 1908.

It is an object of the present invention to improve the efliciency and reliability of button hole finishing or other blind-stitch machines. A particular object thereof is to provide a superior means of insuring the accurate entry of a straight needle into the bent work or fabric. Other objects hereof will appear during the hereinafter following description of one form in which the present improvements may be embodied.

To the attainment of the objects referred to the present invention consists in the novel devices, combinations, arrangements and other features herein illustrated and de scribed.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof Figure 1 is a top view of a button hole finishing machine having removed therefrom the cover plates usually concealing the shuttle in front and the needle fittings in the rear, and with the entire right hand end including driving mechanism broken ofi.

Fig. 2 is aleft hand elevation partly in section upon the plane 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the parts shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a right hand elevation partly in section upon the irregular line 44 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a partial top view showing certain parts in detail.

Fig. 6 is a rear elevation partly in section on the plane 66 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detailshowing the relative position of the idle wheel and needle after the latter has entered the work and the former is about to recede.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail showing the idle wheel in central cross section,

Fig. 9 is a partial front elevation of the throat plate and needle guiding means partly in section upon the plane 99 of Fig. 5. 7

Fig. 10 is a rear elevation partly in section on the plane 10l0 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 11 is a left elevation partly in central section of the needle fittings.

Fig. 12 is a front elevation of the parts which are seen in left hand elevation in Fig. 11.

Among the elements comprised in the illustrated machine are the mechanism for reciprocating an eye-pointed needle, means for bending and holding the work in suitable position for the needle to produce blind stitches therein and a particular device to be more fully described in structure and operation, comprising an idle wheel located, when operative, at the convex side of the work in position adjacent to the work for guiding or deflecting the needle to insure the correct entry of the latter into the work.

The machine frame 20 is provided with the top surface or table 21 having a recess at 22 to the rear of the stitching point exposing the needle fittings, and a recess 23 in front of the stitching point exposing the shuttle and fittings. These two recesses will normally be closed by cover plates. At the stitching point is the removable work plate or throat plate 24 which is so conformed as to take part in the bending or convexing of the work.

The principal active instruments comprise a horizontal needle 25, a resser-foot 26, bender 27, feed block 28 and shuttle 29. The needle thread from any source passes around thread wheel 30 to the needle eye. These instruments are mainly well-known and are not hereinclaimed save in the new relation and combination constituting this invention. Actuation of the parts may be effected from main shaft 34 supporting or driving appropriate cams or mechanisms, description of which will be largely omitted.

The presser-foot 26 is shown carried at the front end of lever 37 and the bender 27 has a .similar carrying lever 38. The two ficient yielding levers is effected from the main shaft. For example, lever 38 has a downwardly extending arm 40 within the frame and a stud 41 at the extremity of the arm cooperates 5 with the cam 42 on the main shaft, the cam serving to oscillate the arm and lever against the resistance of opposing spring 43.- Between the bender 27 and the lever 38 may be interposed a stiff spring 45 capable of suf- 55 pivoted by a sliding pivot 56' (Fig. 3),

projection 57 which is enthe arm having a 58 on the main shaft for gaged by acam moving the lating lever 59 serving to raise the feed block and there being a diagonal spring 60 resisting the upward and rearward motion. A needle bar 65 carries the eye-pointed needle 25 by means of a clamp.66. In the type of machine shown the needle operates in a forward and rearward-direction and has alternately two different paths, namely, spaced slightly horizontally from each other so as to form stitches crossing over from one side to the other of the button hole stitching thrums. To enable this, needle bar 65 is carried in a swinging frame 67 mounted on an axle 68 having front and rear end supports 69 and 70. Vertical adjustment of the needle bar may be obtained by means of screw and slot devices 71 in con- 4 nection with the supports 69 and 7 0.

The-side to side swinging of the needle carrier and frame may be efiected through a loose collar 7 6 on the frame connected by a bar or link 77 with a swinging arm 78 moved rightward and leftward by means of a switch cam 79 on the main shaft.

The needle bar may be moved forwardly and'backwardly through a collar 83 fast on the needle bar and a link 84 connecting the collar with a crank disk 85 at the extreme left end of the main shaft.

The work, which may be a portion of a shoe, having button holes sewed .therein with the loose ends of the thread at the rear,

is supposed to be fed face side upwardly inv a rearward direction beneath the presserfoot and bender. In order that the work may be bent to receive the alternating stitches the throat plate 24 is provided with -a groove 90 extending from right to left and to adapt the-mechanism to variation in thickness of leather or other.

feed block rearwardly; an oscilarranged directly beneath the correspondingly shaped lower end of the bender 27 so that on the depression of the latter the work is curved or bent into the groove and into the path of the needle. The throat plate 1s shown more in detail in Figs. 5 and 9-, it having arecess 91 for the feed block 28 and a needle passage 92 in the front flange or wall of the groove90 as Well as a passage 93 to the rear, said passage overlaid by a cross pin 94.

As a novel means of insuring correct entry of the needle into the work there is herein provided a needle guiding device 100 which comprises an idle wheel 101, this being located, as seen in Figs. 5 and 9, adjacent the throat plate and also closely adjacent to the workat its convex side and in'proper position for guiding the needle to enter the work at the exact position to secure a satisfactory stitch yet to avoid piercing the upper face of the work. This idle wheel 101 is on the side of the work between the latter and the needle bar and, as shown, it is rotatable upon an axis standing generally at right angles to the needle and its peripherynearly tangent to the path of the needle. Theidle wheel 101 is to be freely rotatable and when in operative position is so located as to be contacted by the needle so as to actually deflect the latter, lifting it slightly into the correct path, the needle normally having a position slightly lower than the correct path to enable such cooperation. Fig. 7 shows the relative arrangement of the needle and idle Wheel after the former has been deflected upward by the latter, and it will be seen that the arrangement is such that, Without possibility of injury to either, the forwardly moving needle easily and smoothly rides up upon the wheel to the position shown. During this action the needle effects the rotation of the wheel.

According to the preferred embodiment hereof, the idle wheel 101 is shiftable to movement of the and from the operative position indicated in Fig. 7. Fig. 9 indicates it shifted from 0perative position. The shifting is automatically effected in preference to employing a resilient shifting means. As herein designed the parts operate to shift the wheel into the Fig. 7 operative position before the needle, moving forward, reaches the wheel. The needle thereupon contacts and rides up upon the wheel'to the position shown in Fig. 7. In this position the point of the needle has entered the work in the correct location owing to the close proximity of the wheel 101 to the work, but the needle eye, shown dotted, has not. yet reached the wheel so that crushing of the thread is avoided. In this position of the parts the idle wheel recedes automatically, the needle finishing its forward stroke, forming a stitch, completely withdrawing and thereafter advancing for a subsequent stitch with a repetition of operations. 7

Besides the advantageous operations thus described, the employment of an idle wheel for the purpose stated permits not only underneath support or guidance of the needle insuring its correct entry into the work in that respect, but also permits the wheel to be flanged or grooved at 102 as shown thus affording lateral guidance at both sides as well as beneath the needle. With a needle guide other than the idle wheel these would be impracticable and, moreover, there would then be a tendency to wear such a groove to the mutual detriment of the guide and the needle and interference with proper operations.

As clearly seen in Figs. 5, 8 and 9, the idle wheel is provided with three flanges thus forming not only the groove 102 but a sec- 0nd groove 1.03, and in this way it is adapted to support, guide or deflect the needle in either of the two stitching positions of the latter giving the needle guidance beneath or at the rear, and at both sides in either position. The slight straining of the needle causes it to bear upon the wheel thus in effect giving it guidance against upward displacement, all without injury or detriment to any of the parts.

In order to give the idle wheel 101 its proper shifting movements it is preferably carried on a member 104 which may be termed a carrier, the same fitted, for example, by a pivot 105 to move in a fixed path and provided with means for positively shifting it into operative position, for convenience, a spring 106 resisting such movement by a tendency to press the device downward.

For shifting the idle wheel into operative position a lever 110 may be applied beneath the carrier 104:. The lever 110 may be supported by a fixed but adjustable block 111 (see Figs. 1, 2 and 5) connected by a screw 112 passing through slot 113 in the block to a fixed frame portion. The lever 110 is connected at the upper side of the block 111 and the lever near its forward end has anadjustable contact screw 115 extending through its uppe side and downwardly into contact with a forward extension 116 of the-block 111, said extension carrying a roller 117 engaged and lifted at the proper times by the eccentric portion of a cam 118 formed at the periphery of the crank disk 85 before referred to. The cam 118 is so shaped and timed as to gradually lift the roller 117, and thereby the lever 110 and the idle wheel 101, that the latter reaches operative position before the needle in its forward stroke reaches the idle wheel, and when the needle attains the relative position shown in Fig. 7 the cam 118 suddenly drops the idle wheel to inoperative position.

Thereby the full operation and advantages already referred to in this part of the invention are attained.

A means of adjusting the needle 25 on the bar 65 is shown in Figs. 11 and 12, it con- The connection between the link 84 and block 83 includes a pin 130 projecting from the block as seen in Fig. 10, this pin being capable of sliding relatively to the link to permit the swinging of the needle bar between the stitches without disturbing the position of the'link; and to insure that the link will remain in its proper plane and thus avoid undue wear on the parts, a removable sleeve 131 is introduced between the pin and link, the sleeve having a flange 132 engaged in a forwardly and rearwardly extending grpove 133 formed at the under side of the ta le.

It will thus be seen that I have described a blind-stitch sewing machine embodying the principles and attaining the objects and advantages hereof, and other advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Since many matters of design, arrangement, combination, detail and other features may be variously modified without departing from the principles hereof no limitation to such features is intended excepting in so far as the same are specified in the appended claims.

hat is claimed is:

1. 1m a blind stitch sewing machine the combination of a needle carrying bar having an eccentric portion rigid therewith, means for reciprocating said bar, means for loosening said bar from and securing it to said reciprocating means to permit rotary adjustment of the bar, a needle holdingblock carried at the eccentric portion of the bar, means for loosening said block from said bar to permit relative rotation of the bar, whereby the needle may be adjusted to and from the axis of the bar in a given plane.

2. In a buttonhole finishing machine the following combination: means for bending and holding the work, means for holding and actuating a straight eye-pointed needle in a straight path slightly offset with "respect to its correct path, and an idle wheel between the retracted needle point and the work bend and closely adjacent the convex side of the work bend and slightly within needle enters the Work bend for making a blind stitch; said'idle wheel being of a diameter a small multiple of the diameter of the needle, whereby it is sufliciently small to be accommodated in the restricted space and sufiiciently large for practical mounting and to insure the needle properly finding itself upon the idle wheel periphery.

3. In a buttonhole finishing machine the following combination: means for bending and'holding the work, means for actuating a straight eye-pointed needle to advance alternately in each of two straight paths,

and an idle wheel between the retracted needle point and'the work bend and adja- 20 4 cent the convex side of the work bend and slightly within said needle path, whereby the needle in each advancing stroke rides up upon the idle wheel which deflects the needle to cause it 'to accurately enter the work bend for making'a blind stitch said idle wheel constructed with three needle supporting flanges forming two separate needle receiving grooves adapted to be alternately engaged by the needle, the bottom of each groove serving to support the needle against the strain of its said deflection.

In testimony whereof I afiix' my signature in presence of two'witnesses.

FRED A. READ. Witnesses:

THOMAS J. OARTY, JOHN (l-Bmms. 

